Dear Aliso Niguel Community

Second semester Back-To-School Night is Tuesday, February 17 at 6 p.m. at Aliso Niguel High School.

Below is the format for second semester Back-To-School Night:

Dinner items available: Food Court, 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Wolverines Highlights Assembly: Main Gym, 6:00 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.

Classroom Visitation:

0 period 6:20-6:30 p.m.

1 period 6:35-6:45 p.m.

2 period 6:50-7:00 p.m.

3 period 7:05-7:15 p.m.

4 period 7:20-7:30 p.m.

5 period 7:35-7:45 p.m.

6 period 7:50-8:00 p.m.

Back-to-School Night is a great opportunity to get familiar with the programs available to the students. Parents will have a chance to go their children’s classes by period and meet their teachers. Parents should bring a copy of their children’s schedule with them to the school so that they know where to report for each class.

The periods will last only ten minutes so teachers will be presenting general information about their classroom and subject area. Teachers will not have time to address specific concerns about individual students in their classes. Parents who wish to speak to teachers about their own children’s progress should schedule an appointment with the teachers separately.

CVHS SENIORS NAMED PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS CANDIDATES

Capistrano Valley High School seniors Stephen Hwang and Shannon Kiang were selected as candidates for the prestigious United States Presidential Scholars Program. Established by Executive Order of the President in 1964, the program aims to honor students who demonstrate exceptional scholarship and talent in the visual, creative, and performing arts and is considered to be one of the nation’s highest honors for high school students.

“Stephen and Shannon are two shining examples of what it truly means to be outstanding high school scholars,” notes Deni Christensen, Principal at CVHS. “Their individual accomplishments are nothing short of extraordinary.”

A 4-year cross-country and track athlete, Stephen Hwang earned the titles Most Valuable and Scholar-Athlete for his contributions to the team. Stephen also serves as the CVHS Commissioner of Technological Services and is active in many campus organizations including ASB and the California Scholarship Federation (CSF). Academically, Stephen has earned distinction with a perfect score on the SAT and ranks in the top 15 students of his class with a GPA of 4.46. Stephen has been named a National Merit Commended Student, Advanced Placement Scholar of Distinction and is an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma candidate as well as an Academy of Technology, Math and Science (ATMS) Gold Certificate Scholar. Stephen hopes to pursue a career in business or economics.

Ranking in the top 3 students of her graduating class with an academic GAP of 4.54, Shannon Kiang is also an IB Diploma candidate and ATMS Gold Certificate Scholar. A National Merit semi-finalist, Shannon hopes to pursue a career in medicine, with a specialty in pediatric surgery. Shannon serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the CVHS Times school newspaper, is a member of the varsity swim team and actively participates in campus clubs including CSF and the National Honors Society. An avid philanthropist, Shannon is the President of Operation Smile, a program that funds cleft palate and cleft lip surgeries for children in developing countries and has traveled abroad, working in Paraguay, to support this cause. Shannon is also involved in the Mission Hospital Auxiliary program and was recognized by the California PTSA as a Reflections Award winner for her story on volunteer activities at a rehabilitation center.

“We are proud of these students and are honored to have them as part of the CVHS family,” admits Christensen. “These are exemplary citizens who have each contributed in countless and immeasurable ways not only to CVHS, but to their community. I am confident that they will both use their talents to make our world a better place.”

ANHS Community

Congratulations to the following athletes on their commitments to go on to college and play National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletics next year. Some of these student athletes have committed to Division I schools. Division I (or D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the United States.

In addition to committing, most of these student athletes have signed National Letters of Intent. The National Letter of Intent is designed to formalize the agreement between a student-athlete and the college of choice. When a student-athlete signs a letter of intent, he or she is committing to attend that school for one full year. The school likewise is committing an athletic-based scholarship to the student for one full year. The agreement between the student-athlete and the school is renewed annually.

Committed Wolverine Student Athletes (source: www.ocvarsity.com):

Kicker Mike Bowlin signed a National Letter of Intent and committed to play Division I football at Oregon.

Offensive lineman Matt Peleti committed to play Division I football at San Diego.

Varsity soccer co-captain Mollie Curran signed a National Letter of Intent and committed to play Division I soccer at Georgetown University.

Sara Jones signed a National Letter of Intent and committed to play Division I soccer at Manhattan College.

Varsity soccer co-captain Charlotte Wisniewski signed a National Letter of Intent and committed to play soccer for Vanguard University.

Lauren Evans signed a National Letter of Intent and committed to play soccer for Vanguard University.

Visit www.ocvarsity.com for full coverage of the February 4, 2009 Signing Day in Orange County. Again, congratulations to these outstanding student athletes on their fine accomplishments!!

Aliso Niguel High School is always looking to recognize Aliso Niguel students who are committed to succeeding and excelling in academics, athletics, and the fine arts. We will continue to recognize other students as we learn and are made aware of their achievements.

DON JUAN AVILA MIDDLE SCHOOL
DJAMS NEWS
Principal: Chris Carter
February 5, 2009
_______________________________________________________________________

DJAMS ANNUAL SPELLING BEE

DJAMS’ 8th Annual Spelling Bee was held this morning in the MPR. Congratulations to our outstanding spellers:

1st Place: Brianna Kim

2nd Place: Jasmin Gonzales

3rd Place: Nour Alhariri and Hunter Ossola

Our winners have been invited to the next level which is the Orange County written round held at the Orange County Department of Education on Monday, February 23. On Monday, March 2, winners from the previous level will be invited to the county-wide oral round. Good luck to all participants!

COLLEGE PREP NIGHT AT AVMS

Parents, we hope you will join us for an informative presentation by former CUSD Executive Director Patrick Levens, on Wednesday, February 11, at Aliso Viejo Middle School. Mr. Levens will be covering the following topics:

o Middle School preparation for high school

o High School courses and selection

o A – G Requirements – their relationship to your college placement and other options

This program begins at 7:00 p.m. in the multi purpose room at Aliso Viejo Middle School. All parents of 7th and 8th grade students at Aliso Viejo Middle School, Don Juan Avila Middle School, and Niguel Hills Middle School are invited to attend.

DJAMS CHESS TOURNAMENT

DJAMS Chess Tournament will begin on Monday, February 9, in the library during lunch. Student sign up sheets are in the library.

ART NEWS

Twenty-one DJAMS proud artists have their artwork on display at Laguna Coffee Company for the month of February. The showing is at 1050 S. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach. ( 949-494-6901) Congratulations artists!

SPECIAL NOTE TO HISTORY DAY COMPETITORS

History Day competitors: Please return your permission forms to your social science teachers as soon as possible. No fees required. Thanks!

NO SCHOOL ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13 AND MONDAY, FEBRUARY 16

Due to Lincoln and Washington Day Holidays, there will be no school on Friday, February 13 and Monday, February 16.

2009 DJAMS TALENT SHOW

Please mark your calendars for our upcoming DJAMS’ Talent Show on Thursday, February 26, in the MPR, 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. We hope to see you here! Tickets are $5.

PREVIOUS NEWS

CUSD OPEN ENROLLMENT 2009/2010

The 2009/10 Open Enrollment timeline has been established and is as follows:

· February 9, 2009 – Open Enrollment Applications and Brochures available

· February 11, 2009, 6:00 pm., Board Room – Open Enrollment Parent Information Meeting

· February 11-12, 2009 – School Visitation Days for schools in the Limited Space and One-to-One Categories only

· February 17-20, 2009 Open Enrollment Application Submission Period

· April 3, 2009 – Parent Notification begins

INCOMING 6TH GRADE PARENT NIGHT AT DJAMS

Parents of incoming 6th grade students are invited to attend DJAMS annual Incoming 6th Grade Parent Night on Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 6:30-7:30 p.m. in the MPR. AAA/GATE Parent Meeting will be held from 6:00-6:30 p.m. before the main presentation.

ONGOING WEIGHT TRAINING CLASS

It’s never too late for students to join Mr. Binley’s weight training session. Classes are held from 3:40 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, in our DJAMS Weight Room. This class is designed for all 7th and 8th graders interested in beginning weight training. On-line class registration is available now through Capistrano Community Education, at: www.capousd.org/adult or call 489-7202. Feel free to contact Mr. Binley if you have any questions regarding the class.

DATES TO REMEMBER

February 10 7th/8th Grade Orchestra Performs at Disneyland

February 11 PTSA Domino Pizza Night Fundraiser

February 11 College Prep Night @ AVMS, 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. (Focus on High School Requirements A-G)
February 13 Lincoln Day, Legal Holiday
February 16 Washington Day, Legal Holiday
February 26 Talent Show, 6:00–7:00 p.m., MPR

March 12 PTSA Meeting, 2:30 p.m., Library

March 13 Pi Day

March 28 Academic Pentathlon

April 6-10 Spring Recess – No School

April 22 Incoming 6th Grade Parent Night, 6:30 p.m., MPR
May 14 PTSA Meeting, 2:30 p.m., Library
May 20 Open House, 6:30 p.m.
May 25 Memorial Day, Legal Holiday

May 25 SRLA Team Runs the L.A. Marathon
June 18 Last Day of School

ANHS Community

The Aliso Niguel Associated Student Body is gearing up for the coming 2009 – 2010 school year by beginning the selection process of student officers and commissioners. ASB offers a variety of elected and appointed positions that make up the student council. ASB wants to inform the ANHS community of the timeline for selecting both the elected officers and the appointed commissioners. Please read the information below and relay this information to students who may be interested in participating in planning events at the school and building school pride.

ASB begins the officer selection process with the election of the executive council and class president positions listed below. The elected officer positions are:

ASB President

ASB Vice President

ASB Secretary

ASB Treasurer

Senior Class President

Junior Class President

Sophomore Class President

Below are the important dates to remember for the elected positions:

Wednesday, February 4 – 6, 2009

Election packets available to students in the ASB room

(Students must complete all parts of the election packet and be approved by ASB to run for office)

Friday, February 6, 2009

Mandatory Interest Meeting at Tutorial in ASB Room

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Packets due to Mr. Paulsen’s box by 3 p.m. or the ASB room

Tuesday, February 17 – 19, 2009

Candidate speeches and interviews in the ASB room

Monday, February 23 – 27, 2009

Campaigning

Friday, February 27, 2009

Election day in the quad

Upon completion of the election of those ASB officers, ASB will begin to interview for appointed positions. The appointed positions are:

Commissioner of Activities

Commissioner of Arts & Athletics

Commissioner of Arts & Athletics

Commissioner of Audio

Commissioner of Audio

Commissioner of Clubs

Commissioner of Digital Media

Commissioner of Marketing

Commissioner of Pep

Commissioner of Pep

Commissioner of Public Services

Commissioner of Publicity

Commissioner of Special Events

Commissioner of Staff Relations

Commissioner of Video

Commissioner of Video

Senior Class Representative

Junior Class Representative

Sophomore Class Representative

Commissioner and Representative Appointment Timeline

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

ASB commissioner and representative packets available in the ASB room

(Students must complete all parts of the election packet and be approved by ASB to be considered for office)

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Mandatory ASB commissioner and representative interest meeting in the ASB room

Thursday, March 5, 2009

ASB commissioner and representative packets due by 3 p.m. to Mr. Paulsen’s box or the ASB room

Monday, March 9 – 13, 2009

ASB commissioner and representative interviews in the ASB room

Monday, March 16, 2009

Commissioner and representatives announced by 3 p.m.

Dear Parents,

First, I want to share with you that I purposely did not call on Sunday night to remind you about the minimum day today, because I was told by a few people that parents are on top of it and they would remember. When I spoke with parents dropping kids off at school this morning, they did not know there was a minimum day. Some had so much shock on their faces that they felt it was my fault because I did not remind them like I do. So should I feel safe in stating that I should remind you with those little calls of the little things that slip our minds? J Let me know.

With last semester in my rearview mirror, I am glad to say that it went well. Yes, there were a few bumps in the road in the beginning, but for the most part it was a good one. I will be reviewing grades for the school and will share what I notice with you.

I cannot tell you how fortunate I have been to have had your support on so many of the tasks that are necessary to run a school of our size to meet the needs of our children. Can you believe that we have been able to replace every computer lab in our school for our students, faculty and office staff in the last two years? How have we been able to do that in a budget crunch, you say? With a little foresight, planning, creativity, grants and generous donations from you, we were able to appropriately replenish our computer systems school wide. As a result, our children now have access to technology that is current. I have received many notes of thanks from our kids who are happy with the upgrades. In addition to the computers, we have been able to purchase LCD projectors for almost all of our classrooms. This was again done with multiple sources of funding including the donations from you through PTSA and your private donations from your places of employment and you. I am often humbled by the fact that as a school we have this kind of support.

Over the years, when I have asked for your input on a variety of matters, you have always given me your opinions and I have welcomed them. I knew ultimately that I had to make the final decision, and with your input have made some difficult choices. I have always kept you in the loop and never hid from you even if you agreed or disagreed with me. I have always been there to stand by a decision made by me one way or another.

I would like for you to know that I will always continue to seek your input. I want you to continue to provide me with your view because it is important that I know what that view is. However, please remember that be it good or be it bad, “The buck stops here.” I will never shy away from a decision no matter how trivial or controversial it may be. All of my decisions come with only one thing in mind. That is our children’s best interests.

It is rare that decisions are made in which everybody is happy. I have seen many no-win situations since I have been in education. The impossible always being asked with little assistance and even less money. That’s fine with me. (Isn’t that why I get paid the “big bucks”?) We still keep trying to dream the impossible dream.

I am taking the time to write this because we are heading into some real unchartered territory as a school and district. With the gloom and doom predicted financially, I will have to make some difficult decisions ahead. Some will be personnel decisions. Some will be academic decisions. Still others may involve athletic and extracurricular decisions.

At the last Coffeehouse Chat, I shared that I may have to look at class size and it might be necessary to determine that we may not have a particular out of season sports class in order to keep an academic class at a reasonable size that is to the benefit of learning. I would need your support on something like this if your child participates in the sports class that may be dropped. I will be holding fast to what we say we value in our mission statement which is that a rigorous academic program is at the core of our school.

Regardless if it is academics, sports or community involvement, I am going to need your support and input as we walk through these challenging times together. We as a school and a community will need to place our agendas on the same page at the same time to the benefit of our children. More than anything else, I am going to depend on you to be there for me and you can certainly depend that I will be there for you and our children.

On another note, in attempting to improve the academic achievement of all of our students, we are currently discussing our bell schedule for next year. We are looking at making a change from the current schedule in which students attend class in a week with 1 day with all 55 minute period classes and 4 block days (classes are 1 hour and 40 minutes) in a week to 3 days with the shorter periods and only 2 days of block classes. The thinking is that with shorter period days, kids with shorter attention spans and difficulty focusing in class for an hour and 40 minutes would have a better opportunity to perform better academically. There is research that supports this, but nothing is conclusive on the part of the block days or shorter period days. Please speak with your children and tell me what the family thinks.

I would like to hear from you on this email and its points. Please let me know your thoughts. As always it will be greatly appreciated.

Your friendly neighborhood principal,

Charles Salter

csalter@capousd.org